India vs South Africa: Russell Domingo Impressed With Virat Kohli's 'Aggressive' Team India
Virat Kohli-led Indian team has an attacking mindset which has taken the game forward, feels South Africa coach Russell Domingo.
South Africa coach Russell Domingo on Monday praised the new-found aggression of the Virat Kohli-led Indian side and added that both the teams have enough fiery characters to keep the series alive. (South Africa ready to unleash their pace attack)
"I think both sides play pretty aggressively. I think in the leadership of Virat Kohli to play that brand of cricket, we saw lot of that in Sri Lanka and we saw that in the World Cup. Their body language and the way they bowled was of aggressive nature. Full credit to them (India), they have definitely taken their game forward," he said.
"But look if both sides play in the limits of the game it would be definitely tough, hard uncompromising cricket we expect from India and they can expect same from us. So I think we are both pretty laid back teams but we both have some fiery characters. Guys like, Dale, Kohli, Ishant Sharma, who has been banned, he has obviously been leading that brigade for India at this moment. But I expect the series to be played in a good spirit."
Domingo also opines that many Test sides, including India, are in the transitional phase but insists the hosts can never be taken lightly in their den.
"I think a lot of sides are in a bit of a transitional phase. Lot of Test sides like Australia, with few guys retiring, Indian players have also moved on; South African side also has a few players, who are no longer there. So, I think quite a few of the top Test sides are going through the process at the moment," he said.
"We know India are going to be tough under their conditions. They have got some new young players and they are very good. They have match-winners in their side and we know that they are going to be a tough challenge."
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With South Africa gearing up for three T20Is, five ODIs and four Test matches in the 75-day tour, Domingo weighed up the challenges of a long away series.
"The advantages of a long tour is that people always say that it's too much cricket that is being played, players are burnt out, so we can't say we are burnt out. We have had a pretty easy schedule in terms of work load after the world cup. The disadvantage is that we come here having not played Test match cricket," Domingo said.
"The last Test match we played was in the West Indies in New Year, so we have not played too much of Test cricket. The advantage of that would be that players would be hungry to do well in that format. They still see Tests as the pinnacle of cricket. This year unfortunately we haven't played much Test cricket, next year is going to be different.
"So when we do get time to play Tests we take it really seriously and we know that we are the number one Test side in the world and we would like to hang on to that spot for a long period of time."
Domingo also asserted that South Africa is a good travelling unit with players enjoying each others company.
"I think the players enjoy each other's company for starters. I think there is a big camaraderie in the group, they enjoy each other's company. I suppose being from Africa we are used to being in tough places. Africa is not for sissy's, Africa is a tough place.
"So for us to travel to different places is a challenge for us. We really enjoy that. Seeing different cultures, meeting different people. We have got a good nucleus of senior players who are really good people, that mixes easily with different cultures and different people and I think that's the strength of our side," he said.